Awe as a Pathway to Mental and Physical Health
Perspectives on Psychological Science August 22, 2022 Maria Monroy, Dacher Keltner 141 citations
How do experiences in nature or in spiritual contemplation or in being moved by music or with psychedelics promote mental and physical health? Our proposal in this article is awe. To make this argument, we first review recent advances in the scientific study of awe, an emotion often considered ineffable and beyond measurement. Awe engages five processes-shifts in neurophysiology, a diminished...